


Ash for Ink

by weallstilldie



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Illustrated, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-16
Updated: 2017-08-15
Packaged: 2018-12-15 23:54:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11816865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weallstilldie/pseuds/weallstilldie





	Ash for Ink

Something about how quiet the forest was that morning sent shivers down Tolys' spine. Not a bird sang and not a cricket chirped, and not even the wind would give a reassuring gust. The place had been emptied, only to be filled with an eerie silence.

Empty, just as Tolys' mind now felt. These past weeks he struggled to find for himself any ideas for something to write. Not even a single line with which he could grow a poem wanted to come to him. Every thought came up blank, and so his papers for thoughts were blank as well. He hoped that taking a walk through the forest would help him refresh his mind, but the unusual silence only helped to frighten him.

He made his way down a gentle slope, the sound of leaves beneath his boots seeming amplified. He gazed up to the trees and searched their branches, looking for some sign of birds, and finding none. Hands in his pockets, he fiddled with an old button that had fallen off his old leather coat. The unsettling feeling grew a bit in his chest as he found the silence was not the only unusual thing about the place. There was the smell of smoke. Not the smell of burnt wood from a campfire where some traveller rested, this was something else... It reminded Tolys of the smell of spices, or flowers, or maybe candles, or all three combined. He couldn't tell from which direction the sweet smoke came, but there was something captivating about it.

Wandering farther with tense, nervous steps, he passed by a small pond, a little opening between the brambles leading down to an outcrop of rock that stuck out into the water, and a tall, dead tree beside it. The top of the tree was blackened, as if it'd burned, probably struck by lightning. Tolys studied it for a while, and he felt a little spark in his mind. And when he was satisfied, he continued his walk, then passed a large hill, the side made up completely of stone. And then, when he stopped to look over the stone's surface all dotted with lichen, he heard something. It sounded like a light crackling sound and a gentle whir, coming from just around the corner by the hill. He must have gotten nearer to the source of the smoke. He couldn’t tell if he should be afraid or curious, but nonetheless, Tolys crept forward. He expected to see someone burning incense or an expensive candle as the scent grew stronger, but when the source of the smoke came into view, Tolys let out a frightened shout. He stumbled back, running into a tree. His knees gave way and he dropped onto the ground in shock at what was before him.

High up in the air was a mass of flames the size of a small cabin, levitating, letting out gusts of sweet smelling smoke. Several branches of the nearby trees were burning. What appeared to be wings and a long, thin neck emerged from the mass, then a tail, then two thin legs and massive, burning claws. The creature gave an earpiercing shriek that sent Tolys curling up into a tight ball, shielding his face, whimpering. Too frightened to run. Another shriek, and it beat its massive wings, creating a gust of wind that made the fallen leaves fly and the smaller trees bend. The creature thrashed and sent waves of hot air in all directions, struggling against some invisible force. Tolys peered through one eye as the flaming bird reached its giant beak towards him. He wanted to sprint to the safety of town, but fear froze him in place. All he could do was shut his eyes tight and hope this was just a dream.

He flinched as something warm, but not burning hot as he had expected, touched his shoulder. At that he was struck with confusion, hadn’t the creature been burning? He opened his eyes again, and for a split second, he could have sworn there was another person standing there, and it was their hand that had touched him. But then it was gone. The flames were gone, and the glimpse of a silhouette was also gone. Tolys blinked. He was dreaming. That was it. He shut his eyes, waiting to find himself in his bed again. Nothing. He opened his eyes once more. He was still in the forest, still curled up in a ball.

He remained like so for who knows how long, waiting for some demon to spring out at him, but the woods remained peaceful and silent. No flames, no bird, no silhouette anywhere to be seen. There was not even a breeze to stir the branches and undergrowth. At last, Tolys built up the courage to sit up straight, and then to stand. On shaky legs, but he stood, and he inched away from the site of the image, looking all around him for any sign of danger, listening for any sound out of place. And as he scurried away from the deeper forest, his only company was the crunch of dry leaves beneath his ragged and torn boots.

He had to tell someone, anyone, about this. If this creature was in fact real, if it would harm the city... He was the only one to see it, and so it would have to be his responsibility to inform someone! But no, they'd think he was insane, or they'd arrest him for taking drugs, and... He couldn't make up his mind, but then again. Maybe it would be better if he were locked away for being insane. And just for good measure! Maybe if it were only a delusion, the authorities would laugh it off, and it would all be forgotten. So yes, he'd tell someone, a local guard, perhaps... just in case. Just in case. Magic had been reported in the past after all, though that was a long time ago. But there was always the possibility it had been real.

And so Tolys decided. He'd report it, just in case.

He clambered over the tall metal fence that lined the forest and landed with a thump on the cobblestone street on the other side. He jogged past the towering stone and brick buildings, all grey and red and glowing like embers in the setting sunlight. The streets were empty, save for one or two passerby's, who paid no notice to the boy running along, eyes searching the streets for a guard. Tolys veered corners, entering deeper and deeper into the city, down the narrow, claustrophobic streets compressed between the many shops and apartments, stacked higher and higher on each other, lined with uneven balconies and banners. Filled with families sitting 'round tables, eating dinner and chattering in cheerful voices. Unaware of the boy who ran alone on the empty streets, frightened and confused by the image from the forest. The boy without a family at a table with dinner to return to.

Up ahead, at the end of one lopsided street, loomed a massive building of sandstone, columns in the front, and two towering wooden doors. Broad stairs led up to the entrance. Words were chiseled across the entablature:

 

PODPALKA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY

 

Two guards stood by each side of the doors. Tolys picked up speed as he ran towards them. Skipped up two stairs at a time, stopped and panted and smiled awkwardly up at the nearest guard.

"Is there something you need?" The guard asked in a monotone voice, not budging an inch, save for his eyes, which glared at Tolys in irritation.

Tolys felt his heartbeat speed up, knowing very well that he'd likely be laughed at. It was worth a shot though. Just in case, he kept assuring himself. "Well, um... see, I was in the forest, and—"

"If this is about that abandoned house, you have nothing to be concerned over." The guard interrupted, with a look on his face that gave off the impression that he'd heard similar complaints before.

"No, no, there I saw this thing, it was like a bird, but—"

"Kid, don't waste my time. I don't need to hear about your fear of birds."

"It was on fire and it was as big as a tree!" Tolys practically shouted in his frustration, and realised he really did sound either insane, or incredibly stupid, as both guards burst into laughter.

"A giant bird? On fire? Listen to him!" The guard laughed. Tolys’ face went red in embarrassment. "Go back home, boy, and cry to your mother about this. We're not here to deal with people like you."

Tolys flinched at that, and backed away, down the stairs. Not going to deal with them. He'd only make the situation worse. And as he ran back down the streets, now emptier than before, he thought to himself, of course he'd be laughed at. Who would believe a story about a giant flaming bird? He was an idiot to think there was anything to be concerned about. It was just some delusion, that was it.

He internally chastised himself as he ran with his head down, avoiding the looks of any remaining people. He ran all the way until he reached a little shop in the scrappier parts of the city. Trash lay about the edges of the street and the walls of the buildings were stained with smoke and other unpleasant things. The shop in front of him looked no better than any other in the area: smudged up windows, dirty walls, the red paint chipping off the door. A wooden "closed" sign was hung up on it. The words "writing supply" fading on the sign above the windows. Stepping inside, the door creaking on rusty hinges and a little bell ringing above it, Tolys was hit with the strong, musty scent of leather and smoke and ink. His boots clopped against the uneven stone floor, the only sound in the otherwise empty shop. Everything was still and dim, difficult to see, now that the sun was down and the candles were out. But Tolys didn't need to see to get around, he knew the layout of the shop by heart. Every row of every shelf, lined with rolls and stacks of different types of paper, ink bottles of every colour, narrow boxes of quills. Even a few rows devoted to candle holders and scented candles. In the far end of the room was a single, narrow wooden door, colourless, save for a splash of blue ink from an accidental spill. Tolys felt his way to it and slipped through, up an equally narrow staircase. Walls tight and closing in, each step steeper than it was long. Easy to lose your footing and fall, with nothing but more stairs to catch you. Each one creaked, and Tolys was certain one day the boards would split beneath him. The stairs turned to the right, over and over, spiraling, and every now and then, he'd pass a small door. Six stories up. He stopped at one of the many doors, this one with a little 64 stamped onto it. The fourth door on the sixth floor. The room Tolys had spent the last twelve years in.

The room behind it was no larger than a rather spacious closet. A small bed stood up against the wall to his left, layers of ratty cloth as a mattress, a torn sheet for a blanket, and a rolled up curtain as a pillow. A small desk sat across from the bed, not much more than scrapwood hammered together with a shaky old stool as a chair, which made cracking noises every time it was sat on. There was a single tattered book atop the desk, made up of sheets of cheap paper stitched together; some of the pages falling loose, other torn at the edges. Next to it, a little jar of ink and a handmade quill. A little lumpy candle sat unlit with the other items. Tolys had made it all himself, collected scrap paper and thread, mixed the ink, fashioned the quill from a feather he found in the woods. He collected the spare wax with which to make the candle. He collected the old cloth on his bed, he assembled the desk, he dug the stool from an old heap of disposed furniture in an alley.

This was home.

Tolys sat at the little desk, took a match from his pocket and lit the candle. And as he sat there, watching the little flame, he imagined that he was not alone in a tiny room, but rather that he was seated at a big table, surrounded by a family, eating a nice dinner, talking, laughing. Candles flickering, a fire burning in a fireplace, warmth.

A light breeze blew from the small window beside Tolys' bed. For a moment, the candle flame seemed to grow wings.


End file.
